Critical Analysis Of Ecocriticism

Literature, the very reflection of life , a medium that sketches the cultural fabric and the ethos of the society onto the verbal canvas has always been intrigued by the treatment and representation of nature by man. Glen A. Love in his essay “ Revaluing Nature” published in The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology by Cheryl Glotfelty and Harold Fromm observes, “The most important function of literature today is to redirect human consciousness to full consideration of its place in a threatened natural world” (237). During the last two decades, ecocriticism has emerged as the one of the most relevant and sought after areas of literary scholarship. Ecocritics investigate the underlying ecological values, human perception of

From its humble beginnings, it has expanded into this powerful mode of research, building strong footholds throughout the world and also encompassing a wide variety of genres, other critical modes of research and writers of all ethnicities. Its compelling and pervasive diversity has enabled inter disciplinary and multi disciplinary branches of studies rejuvenating the very heart and purpose of Research. The word ‘ecocriticism’ first appeared in William Rueckert’s essay ‘Literature and Ecology: An Experiment in Ecocriticism’ in 1978. It is applied to a work in which landscape itself is a dominant character wherein significant interaction occurs between author and place. It is a critical mode that looks at the representation of nature and landscape in texts and informs human perceptions and their modifications seeking to create awareness. Cheryll Glotfelty in her Introduction to The Ecocriticism Reader published in 1996 defines ecocriticism as the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment(xix). Ecocritics investigate the underlying ecological values, human perception of wilderness, and how it has changed through the times along with the representation of environmental issues in literature. Literature, the very reflection of life , a medium that sketches the cultural fabric and the ethos of the society

Love in his essay “ Revaluing Nature” published in The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology by Cheryl Glotfelty and Harold Fromm observes, “The most important function of literature today is to redirect human consciousness to full consideration of its place in a threatened natural world” (237). Love further argues that “recognizing the primacy of nature and the necessity for a new ethic and aesthetic embracing the human and the natural - these may provide us with our best hope of recovering the lost social role of literary criticism”(237-8). Ruskin Bond, a prolific writer, is known for his short stories, novellas and poems. He has received the Sahitya Akademi Award for English writing in India for ‘Our Trees Still grow in Dehra’ in 1992. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 and Padma Bhushan in 2014. His stories not only spread awareness about the bitter consequences of human actions that damage the planet’s basic life support system but also celebrate the myriad facets of nature. He brings the spotlight onto the mystical unity of all forms of life. Bond, awake to the resplendence of nature observes in his Book of Nature, “When we walk close to nature, we come to a better understanding of life; for; it is from the natural world that we first emerged and to which we still belong” (